BAT HORNET

Now that's what I call a car meet!

Could it get any better than that?

PANDORA

 Well, its official, the UK is in the grip of a Second Wave.

The virus is once more out of control. Out of the box again.

With our Government increasingly and eerily employing the icons and lingo of Science Fiction, like Rule of Six, Circuit Breaker and Second Wave, the situation seems almost incredible. Like characters in Wells' War of the Worlds, the reality of our circumstances seem too stark to fully accept.

I have just returned to work after 6 months furlough. Already the systems of the State are falling apart again. I fear I maybe back home again soon.

In the words of Theoden of Rohan,

"How did it come to this?"

STAY SHARP

I liked this Reliance pencil sharpener on Worthpoint.

he's a very proud looking astronaut as is the floral dress lady on the backing card. Its a strange combination.

Did you have any space related or fantasy related pencil sharpeners readers?

I WAS A JELLY WOBBLE TESTER. WERE YOU?

My Missus recently bought some old badges for a friend's birthday. The pile included some fabulously nostalgic ones.

One was Jelly Wobble Tester. I so remember that phrase and said it all the time, yet i cannot for the life of me recall where it came from! Can You?

Another one was Wayfinders. Blimey, that took me right back. I had a pair of Wayfinder shoes with a compass in the heel. The sole was embossed with paw prints I think.  I had thought they were called Pathfinders but who knows. There was a Moonscape version with craters on the sole too.

Another badge was Clarks Commandos but I don't remember that one. It could have come later than my childhood maybe?

Do you remember any of these badges readers? Did you have favourites?

OVER A BARREL

Woodsy

Regarding the post Car Boot Toy Parts Identity Parade last month on the blog, I suggested the four yellow plastic barrels on the red pallet might have been the barrels that were included in the No.51 John Deere tipping trailer, here is a photograph of the trailer, which came with three barrels. 

These are 14 mm high, and 12 mm in diameter, with one open end and one solid end. Does this match the barrels you have ? I thought the tyres might have been from a tractor, but they seem to be too large to be from a 1-75 model, so perhaps they were from a King Size truck or tractor model ? 

 The engine probably came from a 1-75 series hot rod model. Matchbox obviously got some extra use from old moulds, by using existing tooling to create the truck load. It would also have saved a few pounds, compared to making a completely new load.

Paul A

NZ

WOW! WHAT A BOOSTER!

Check out this dramatic footage on the BBC of NASA's new mega booster! You would not want to git in the way of that!

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-53990051 

TOY SCOUTS

I'm used toy seeing the Astro scout car in blue and yellow but here's an interesting blue and red version on Worthpoint. The Ideal Astro Base must have been an amazing toy to have in the early sixties.

Did you have one?

PLANET EPHEMERA

 

I've always liked papers and documents. As a kid I loved exercise books and scrap books.

Nowadays old papers are called ephemera by collectors.

here's a bit of ephemera I found in my drawer from days gone on Moonbase. All early 1990's: a Steve Flowers die-cast repro parts catalogue; a Forbidden Planet mail Order lost and a Movie Boulevard catalogue.

I used to love buying repro parts from Steve Flowers mail order. I enjoyed restoring the odd die-cast car in my early Thirties including the Austin with the revolving tyre on the roof.

Forbidden Planet was never a huge deal for me to be honest. although I used to pop into the Leeds branch when I worked round there and browse the toy magazines. My shop of choice back then in Leeds was called Millennium where I bought Toy Shop, Action Figure Digest and Model and Toy Collector by the great Bill Breugman of Toy Scouts Inc. I have a big collection of these wonderful American magazines.

Movie Boulevard was a shop inside two arches of the Leeds railway in the city centre. I don't think it's there anymore. They offered thousands of movie stills and press packs and all forms of film ephemera. The catalogue lists the lot. They had a few old toys too and I recall seeing the Stingray Lone Star pistol on the counter.

Have you piles of old ephemera like this?